A wide array of economic indicators point toward potentially record retail sales growth during 2021, but the coronavirus pandemic remains the biggest challenge for the year, according to US National Retail Federation (NRF) chief economist Jack Kleinhenz, who recently said he was optimistic about improving macroeconomic conditions as COVID-19 infections decline.
“There is no doubt the economy is positioned for growth in 2021, but how much growth comes down to a single non-economic force—the coronavirus,” Kleinhenz said.A wide array of economic indicators point toward potentially record retail sales growth during 2021, but the coronavirus pandemic remains the biggest challenge for the year, according to US National Retail Federation chief economist Jack Kleinhenz, who recently said he was optimistic about improving macroeconomic conditions as COVID-19 infections decline.#
“Yet the road is never straight, and we have challenges ahead. The pandemic remains the largest uncertainty and the biggest risk the economy faces in 2021,” he said.
Kleinhenz’s remarks came in the March issue of NRF’s Monthly Economic Review, which said the economy is entering its second year of strong savings, high stock values, increased home prices, enhanced government support and record-low interest rates despite the pandemic.
Employment and wages are growing, and consumers have ‘plenty of purchasing power’ that will combine with pent-up demand to provide ‘accelerants for growth’, said NRF in a press release.
Kleinhenz said the pace of growth could be ‘patchy’ across the country given differences in demographics, industrial base and state or local government policies, but that there should be a ‘return to normalcy’ beginning in the second quarter.
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